29 November 2021 | Draft
Variety of Rhyming Patterns in Standard 14-line Sonnets
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Introduction
Variety of rhyming patterns: 4/4/4/2, 3 quatrains with couplet
Variety of rhyming patterns: 8/6 or 14, and without couplet
Standard Sonnets of Miscellaneous Form: combinations of octaves, sestets, quatrains, tercets, and couplets
Introduction
There is of course a vast literature commenting on the role of poetry and how it "works". The approach taken here follows directly from the earlier argument Comparable Modalities of Aesthetics, Logic and Dialogue (2021), and specifically to the focus on the 170 web resources regarding the role of 14-fold patterns (Pattern of 14-foldness as an Implicit Organizing Principle for Governance? Web resources, 2021). Given its acknowledged impact over an extended period, notably reviewed was the role of the 14-line Shakespearian sonnet (Future challenge of problematic sets for governance -- strategic sonnets? 2021).
Of obvious relevance to further inquiry is the variety of forms of poetry. A primary source for the following discussion was the remarkably organized database set up by Lawrence Eberhart (Poetry Forms Index, Poets Collective Multi-site Network. As of 22 April 2019, this appears to have distinguished some 625 such forms. Particular attention is given to the Sonnet Forms (count as of 21 April 2018 = 179), primarily divided into Standard Sonnets (count as of 1/12/2016 = 107) and so-called Gadget Sonnets (count as of 1 November 2017 = 70). It is the "standard sonnets" which take the form which is of primary interest to this inquiry, namely a 14-lined pattern.
From the database, particular focus was given to those sonnets which follow the Shakespearian pattern of 3 quatrains followed by a couplet, as indicated in the table below, reproduced from commentary on its potential implications (Potential for Coherence through Engaging Strategic Poetry: memorable cycles of subdivision enabling viable governance, 2021). Missing from the database is however any sense of the number of sonnets written according to a particular rhyming pattern. The 41 items in the table are however one indication of the degree of preference for the 3-quatrain/1-couplet pattern. The links in the database (reproduced below) point to detailed commentary. Where the commentary raised complex issues or alternatives, a question mark is appended to the name in the table.
Omitted from the three tables are the following sonnet forms about which the commentary was too complex to be encoded
Variety of rhyming patterns: 4/4/4/2, 3 quatrains with couplet
| Variety of Rhyming Patterns in 14-line Standard Sonnets -- I of the form 4/4/4/2; namely 3 quatrains with couplet |
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For convenience, the table above is presented here together with two other tables (all extracted from one single table). These offer a similar perspective on other standard sonnets variously conforming to the 14-line pattern
Variety of rhyming patterns: 8/6 or 14, and without couplet
| Variety of Rhyming Patterns in 14-line Standard Sonnets -- II of the form 8/6 or 14, and without couplet |
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| Of the form 8/6, namely octave/sestet (totalling 21) | Of the unbroken form 14 (totalling 13) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Standard Sonnets of Miscellaneous Form
The database commentary for some sonnet forms indicated that several rhyming variants were possible. These have been treated as separate entries (with a number appended to the name) in the table above and below.
| Variety of Rhythm Patterns in 14-line Standard Sonnets of Miscellaneous Form -- III (52 forms excluded from the tables above; characterized by combinations of octaves, sestets, quatrains, tercets, and couplets) |
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